Deterministic 1D Domain Wall Motion with Nucleation-Free Nature in Sliding Ferroelectric Switching

Inhomogeneous domain nucleation and stochastic motion of the domain wall (DW) during the polarization switching process in conventional ferroelectrics introduce a spectrum of intricate kinetic challenges for the reliable and precise manipulation of polarization states, a prerequisite for many ferroelectric implementations. Combining deep-learning-assisted molecular dynamics simulations, microscopic-scale observations, and device-scale electrical measurements, it reveals that sliding ferroelectrics inherently circumvent these issues, with an intrinsic domain-nucleation-free polarization reversal. Using <a:math xmlns:a="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <a:mrow> <a:mrow> <a:mn>3</a:mn> <a:mi>R</a:mi> </a:mrow> <a:mtext>−</a:mtext> <a:msub> <a:mrow> <a:mi>MoS</a:mi> </a:mrow> <a:mrow> <a:mn>2</a:mn> </a:mrow> </a:msub> </a:mrow> </a:math> as a model system, we demonstrate that DW motion occurs along a well-defined 1D pathway in a collective manner, without domain nucleation. Leveraging this predictable domain dynamics, we demonstrate deterministic multistate polarization switching, achieving remarkable precision and repeatability with a variation coefficient of less than 0.2%, 10 times improved over conventional ferroelectrics. This work provides valuable insights into the unique kinetics of DW motion in sliding ferroelectrics and offers opportunities for ferroelectric multistate devices with ultraprecision control.